Terms of Endearment #14

The room - (n.) The locker/dressing room.

Players often talk about the room.

"It's good to have veteran guys like that in the room."

"He's a big presence in the room."

"We don't really talk about that stuff in the room."

The room is referenced a lot in interviews. The room is obviously an important place. It's the inner sanctum for the players. A lot of stuff gets said in there, the real stuff, the gritty stuff, the stuff that's not camera-ready or politically correct.

I really hope I can bring my readers into the room with my players, the San Diego Barracudas. One my goals with the IN THE ZONE series is to zero in on a side of hockey that the fans don't normally see. Sure, it's fiction and I'm taking liberties and probably getting a lot of stuff wrong, but one day I may actually get a look at the Kings' locker room, and at least soak in the non-human details.

Personally, I love when the TV cameras go in "the room." I often ignore the players completely and focus on what's behind him. I'm studying the pads, where the hooks are, all the details.

One time, I saw Anze Kopitar nonchalantly hang his cup up on a hook behind him while a reporter was asking a question. Being a woman, I was like, "Wow, that's what a cup looks like." Being an LA Kings fan, I was like, "OMG. THAT'S ANZE KOPITAR'S CUP!" Being a smutty romance writer, I was like, "Since they're only filming him from the chest up, does that mean he hasn't got pants on?"